December 20, 2023

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What would soccer be without controversy surrounding club participation and formats for its various tournaments? MLS shows it is no different from the rest of the world thanks to the growing divide over the U.S. Open Cup. … Memphis is beginning to spend $350 million in state funds for its sports facilities, but hard feelings are already forming. … And Florida State is once again thinking about its conference future after its CFB snub.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

Florida State Is Still Unhappy With CFP Snub. Could Noles Leave ACC? [[link removed]]

Tallahassee Democrat

Florida State is reportedly once again exploring the idea of leaving the ACC after being snubbed by the College Football Playoff despite an undefeated season and conference championship. FSU leaders have renewed in-depth discussions about the school’s long-term future in the ACC in recent weeks, sources told ESPN [[link removed]].

The news is perhaps unsurprising given the conversations this past summer and fall. As conference realignment destroyed the Pac-12 and shrunk the Power 5 to a Power 4, FSU officials became increasingly vocal about their displeasure with the ACC’s financial position on media rights revenue — in the coming years ACC schools will each annually receive at least $30 million less than their Big Ten and SEC counterparts.

FSU president Richard McCullough said [[link removed]] the university would “very seriously” consider leaving the ACC without major changes. The conference is shifting its revenue distribution slightly to incentivize schools that win, but those changes won’t make up significant gaps.

Since missing out on the CFP, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed [[link removed]] that $1 million in state funds go toward a lawsuit against the snub. Next year, the CFP expands to 12 teams, making it nearly unthinkable that any undefeated conference champion would be left out.

Could FSU Actually Leave the ACC?

The ACC’s grant of rights is supposed to hold schools together until 2036. Leaving early would cost FSU a buyout fee of $120 million, plus any additional legal fees associated with the move. The Seminoles would also need another conference to join, as the school’s athletics director Michael Alford has ruled [[link removed]] out the option of going independent.

As the college landscape continues to shift, FSU could have potential allies in Clemson and North Carolina, who voted along with the Seminoles against adding Stanford and Cal to the ACC. The SEC would be a logical geographic fit for any of those three schools. The Big 12 has one conference member in the state of Florida (UCF), but no others border North Carolina or South Carolina.

Future of U.S. Open Cup Soccer Tournament in Doubt [[link removed]]

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

American soccer leaders are at odds over the future of the sport’s oldest ongoing U.S. tournament.

The United States Soccer Federation has denied a request from Major League Soccer to allow its developmental teams from the MLS Next Pro league to represent MLS clubs in the annual U.S. Open Cup (America’s equivalent of the FA Cup), which was first held in 1914.

All 26 American MLS clubs competed in the 2023 edition of the single-elimination tournament, which was won by the Houston Dynamo. The entire field featured 99 teams with additional participation from the second-division USL, other lower-tier leagues and amateur clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of American soccer.

MLS cited “several essential goals and concerns that must be addressed in connection with the tournament,” including reducing schedule congestion for MLS and enhanced investment from U.S. Soccer. In May, MLS commissioner Don Garber bemoaned [[link removed]] the tournament’s status: “It’s just not the proper reflection of what soccer in America at the professional level needs to be.”

Media Rights at Play?

Like MLS, the 2023 U.S. Open Cup received a major attention boost from Lionel Messi. But the tournament is one of the only opportunities for broadcasters other than Apple to show MLS games. While no major deals for 2024 have been announced, a source tells Front Office Sports that CBS Sports is discussing its return as one of the tournament’s broadcasters.

The Inter Miami-FC Cincinnati semifinal on the CBS Sports Golazo Network provided the streaming channel with its most successful day ever in terms of households reached. Although viewership isn’t available for the Miami-Houston final, which Messi sat out due to injury, on the CBS Sports Network cable channel, the match’s Spanish-language broadcast generated 1.2 million viewers across Telemundo, Universo and Peacock.

Other early tournament matches aired on Golazo, the Bleacher Report app and B/R Football’s and U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channels.

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After Fight for $350M in Memphis Stadium Funds, Dust Finally Settling [[link removed]]

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

After months of often tense debate, Memphis officials are starting to divvy up $350 million in state funding for the city’s various sports facilities — but not without generating some hard feelings and additional costs.

The Tennessee General Assembly gave the money to Memphis in April to help renovate the FedEx Forum, the home of the NBA’s Grizzlies, as well as AutoZone Park, where the Triple-A Redbirds play, and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, home of the University of Memphis football team. The money also was originally intended to help build a proposed soccer stadium to permanently house the USL Championship’s Memphis 901 FC.

Distributing those funds was left to the city, a situation creating a scrum [[link removed]] among the various teams to secure their share, and maybe more.

On Tuesday, the Memphis City Council approved $120 million from that pool to renovate Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and transfer ownership of the facility to the university. That allocation is set to be joined by a $50 million donation from Fred Smith, FedEx founder and chairman, plus a further $50 million university fundraising campaign, bringing the total stadium renovation funds to $220 million.

The Memphis Tigers’ athletic program has attempted on several occasions over the last decade to shift from the American Athletic Conference to a power conference, and department officials said the vote and stadium renovation plan “will position our university and football program for sustained success.”

Left Out

The remaining $230 million of the state funds is likely intended for FedEx Forum as part of an estimated $550 million needed to renovate the 19-year-old arena. It’s unclear where the rest of the money will come from, but that scenario leaves out AutoZone Park upgrades and the soccer project.

“Once the jewel of downtown and the gold standard for minor league baseball stadiums, AutoZone Park is simply no longer considered a top facility in professional baseball,” Redbirds president Craig Unger said last month. “It is in desperate need of standard updates to basic infrastructure … and is in danger of not meeting Major League Baseball’s compliance standards.”

Conversation Starters Maria Sánchez grew up scrimmaging older boys in Idaho, finished high school with a state-record 178 career goals and earned a first pro deal worth $14,584 a year. Now, the 27-year-old is the NWSL’s highest-paid [[link removed]] player with her four-year, $1.5 million deal with Houston. The new Pro Volleyball Federation signed [[link removed]] a deal with its first broadcaster partner: CBS Sports. Attention FOS readers: What do you think will happen in 2024 in the business of sports? Send us your predictions for the future of pro leagues, ownership, media rights, venues, college athletics and the rest. Respond to this email, and we might run your answer on Dec. 29.

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